Aren't hardtails fun?!

I turned up at Glentress today to enjoy a sprint around the red but I only managed to get about 400 yards up before my bloody annoying front-brake-locking problem returned and I couldn't get it to free off no matter what I tried (I think it's in the master cyl as all pistons move fine and have new seals etc, but that's not the point of the story). I popped back to the Alpine Bikes shop and was about to ask the chap if he had a spanner I could borrow to take the top off the master cyl to have a look when I glanced up at the hire prices and thought "sod it, the price of just about any repair on this annoying bike I can hire one for the day and enjoy myself" - we were a bit late already and I didn't want to keep folk waiting. So I took one of the Trek 6300s and off I went. Initial concern that the head tube felt really quite steep and twitchy went away as I gained a bit of trust in the front tyre which seemed to have endless grip (a bonty tyre IIRC) on the corners. So the climb still nearly killed me (I'm a bit unfit) but on the downs I don't think it slowed me at all in comparison with the NRS I normally ride. Could have had more travel up front to be more comfy but it felt pretty responsive and made the jumps much more fun - I finally got myself landing on the down ramps of the tabletops rather than back wheel on the edge.

So, out of a bit of an annoying maintenance problem I now have a bit of an annoying bike choice problem - do I drop full sus and return to hardtail? If so, what mid-range frame for a tall, heavy all-rounder on a build-from-scratch budget? I really enjoyed the ability to flick it round which just doesn't seem to be present with the NRS. I was just in the process of building up a long travel full sus and that's on hold too now!

Depends on where you're riding and what hardtail/full sus it is I suppose! I wouldn't fancy a hardtail where I'm riding right now but I also wouldn't want a massive travel full sus. Short wheelbase, not too slack a head angle and about 6-7" travel makes it a fun easily jumpable bike that makes all the braking bumps a bit easier to handle

Awesome responses so far, had me chuckling Riding would be scottish, both natural and trail centre but rarely DH (and that's sort of what the long travel machine was intended for anyway). I've too many bikes <sharp intake of breath> and not enough time goes into maintaining them all - maybe it's time to condense the short trav FS and singlespeed into one.

Love taking my 456 SS out on the trails every now and then.
Amazing how sloppy your technique gets and how lazy you become when you only ride full sussers.
Reminds me how to ride and makes my usual trail centre so much more challenging.
I wouldn't want to just have a hardtail though.
They're too hard work.

+1 for the Orange P7 (geared); mines three years old and still the best all round bike I have owned, but since I got my Piglet (singlespeed) two weeks ago and built that up I heartily recommend looking at a Ragley as well

I have just returned from the 7 Stanes. We did all of the 'main' ones. I took my freshly built Cotic BFE it was great. It was bult with some 36's. Climbs were climbs decents were great. No problems staying with the pack. I enjoy my hard tails, usually use a Dialed Alpine and they are not dis similar.

My mate took his P7with 36's too, another satisfied rider.

DO IT DO IT NOW. I am sure you will enjoy it, if not nock it out in classifieds and move on.

New to this forum
Have just returned from N Wales. due to logistical issues could only take my spare bike so did Marin and Penmachno on a '97 hardtail zaskar with rigid carbon forks, 2.0 tyres and v brakes. Nearly shook my fillings out, required high level of concentration....

I agree they are a fun , bought an 09 kona blast off a friend as a local hack/commute bike and have had some fun rides . I'd have to say they're a bit tough on the body(especially if you suffer with back and neck probs!!) but agree that they make you ride better / differently compared to FS . Prefer my Enduro though

Had a NRS and I think it's a very good xc frame. With a Reba set at 100mm it was riding really well. I now have a 853 Altitude with u-turn Revs. I don't miss the NRS as on longer rides steel frame might not be as comfortable as a full susser but is much better then any alu HT I had before. Geometry is also really good, the bike rides so well and with Revs at 120mm. I am not a skilled rider but somehow longer travel on the Genesis and sorted geometry gives me extra confidence. I really enjoy riding my HT And it's steel with some extra pixie dust.

Cheers all, some interesting thoughts there - I'll have to track some of them down locally and see how I get on with them. I've not ridden a steel hardtail since I was a kid - will have to have a feel. Like the Trans Am frame visually. Maybe I've been too quick to jump on my frame as the issue when clearly I've other issues with the bike, but a change is as good as a rest eh!

The Dialed is MORE stable if anything mate, so if it's a bit more twitch you are after then it might not be your bag. If your down Hertfordshire way, you are welcome to try mine out. You would probably find a Sovreign more to your liking I believe.

I mostly use my hardtail for stuff like Glentress, Kirroughtree etc, the full suss can be fun there but really what's the need? But, there's plenty of times when a bit more bounce is useful. So, it does depend what you ride, where you ride, how you ride it.

If I could only have one bike, I guess it'd be a hardtail, but I'd not be so keen to go off to france or go downhill racing or just go off places that I don't know the trails.

Having swapped a full suss for a hardtail I find I'm not pushing myself nearly as much. Yes my Handjob is better for riding up and along, but for the bits I really enjoy I wish I had the skill/confidence compensation of rear suspension.

Unfortunately I can't afford to go back to a big bike or I would currently be riding an Alpine 160.

You should own at least one of each! (where N+1 = number of bikes you currently own) I own one of each (and 2 road bikes) and it's more fun to have a choice depending on the terrain and hills to climb!!

Almost finished building a 456 frame up with the old NRS kit (130mm bombers, XT all round) and took it for a short spin round the block (without brakes as they're currently seal-less) and I can already see what people like in it. It feels really well balanced, nimble and fast but stable. Looking forward to a proper run on it!

Another vote for Orange P7. It's been my only bike for 6 years now, I had a 5" full suss but didn't enjoy it half as much as my P7. I have 150mm Bombers on it and I ride it everywhere: trail centres, natural, downhill. I'm just back from Whistler where I rode the XC trails and the Bike Park, I did get some odd looks on the chairlift but I was still overtaking folk, on big DH bikes, on the twistier descents. On the flowy, big jump trails, a FS bike will be faster but not half as much fun as a hardtail on the twisty stuff.

I would've thought the ht would be faster on the flowy jumpy trails as you can pump all the rollers etc without losing as much energy through the shocks. Like that section on crank it up not too far after the rope bridge, with that line of rollers leading into a jump. Respect for doing it on a hartail though, I don't think I could hack all the braking bumps here on one Almost brought my Trailstar but glad I have the full bouncer, way more confidence inspiring as well.

Did the High Street ride a couple of weekends ago on my titanium Global with rigid carbon fork. After 25 miles and 5500 ft of climbing I still had some left in the tank while the three riders on FS were absolutely shelled by the weight of their bikes. And on the downhill sections none of them passed me, ever. One even complained that he couldn't get past.

FS might be OK for blasting down a big Alp or around a trail centre but for serious riding out in the mountains you still can't beat a lightweight, simple, maintenance-free hardtail, especially if it gets steep enough that you need to pick it up and shoulder it.